A Morrissey concert ended abruptly after his fans stormed the stage in Dallas, leaving a bodyguard injured.
The ugly incident occurred as the 65-year-old singer-songwriter, who claimed his former bandmate Johnny Marr “ignored” a lucrative offer to reform The Smiths, was nearing the end of his solo show at Fair Park Music Hall in Dallas. on Saturday night.
He had just come out to perform the encore, complete with his mesmerizing baritone voice, for a performance of First Of The Gang To Die, from his album You Are The Quarry (2004), when a young woman casually bounds onto the stage.
Apparently knowing that Morrissey’s fans wanted to come up and touch him during his concerts, a security worker walked up to greet a fan on stage, but allowed her to approach the star of the show, who then reciprocated with a hug. , as reported by TMZ.
Impersonators quickly pounced on the moment, with another young woman standing right in front of the Everyday Is Like Sunday artist, who had a clear and easy path to jump on stage and receive a hug.
Morrissey, 65, had to cut his concert at Fair Park Music Hall in Dallas, Texas, short on Saturday night, Nov. 2, when fans took the stage.
A fan’s jump on stage to hug the singer sparked a group of imitators, resulting in him being escorted off, ending the show.
Seeing her success, a young woman used her speed to run towards Morrissey (born Steven Patrick Morrissey), but a second security worker ran across the stage to intercept her, but not before she could touch her musical hero.
Fan after fan started jumping on stage, but the final straw came when a man jumped and everything got too crazy.
When things really started to get chaotic, fans on both sides of the stage began running to meet the Davyhulme, Lancashire, England native.
At that point, Morrissey found himself in the middle of three security guards and three fans grabbing him, which started to get a little scary.
Despite this, he reached out and touched at least one of the men and the lady, before he was eventually dragged off the stage, while the band continued playing the encore song.
It is relatively common for fans to go on stage and attempt to hug Morrissey during his concerts, as it is often seen as a “rite of passage” for dedicated fans.
Many fans see getting physically closer to Morrissey as a way to express their deep admiration and connection to him.
Turns out there was at least one casualty when one of those security workers went limp while trying to push one of those people away from Morrissey.
During the encore song, a fan casually walked onto the stage while the security worker let her hug Morrissey and then sent her back to the stage.
The British performer remained calm when fans began trying to greet him
It is relatively common for fans to go on stage and attempt to hug Morrissey during his concerts, as it is often seen as a “rite of passage” for dedicated fans.
Many fans see getting physically closer to Morrissey as a way to express their deep admiration and connection to him.
Finally, things started to get chaotic and security began to intercept the rush from the stage.
The former Smiths frontman continued singing as the rush began to increase.
In the end, Morrissey was escorted off stage by a security worker and the show ended.
That bodyguard could be seen limping off the stage, clearly unable to support his full body weight on both legs, in what was likely a knee or foot injury.
Another of the stagehands would run to the injured man and escort him to safety in the backstage area.
As frontman of The Smiths, Morrissey attracted attention for his trademark pompadour and witty, sardonic lyrics during his reign in the alternative rock world, releasing studio albums between 1982 and 1987.
Deliberately avoiding the machismo of rock, he cultivated the image of a sexually ambiguous social outsider who embraced celibacy with songs like What Difference Does It Make? Girlfriend in a coma and I started something I couldn’t finish.
Morrissey had just kicked off the final leg of his tour on Halloween, two days before; with the next show scheduled for Monday, November 4 in Little Rock, Arkansas
After going solo amid conflicts in The Smiths, Morrissey has released 13 solo studio albums, with his 14th, Without Music the World Dies, still pending.
This leg of Morrissey’s tour just kicked off on Halloween, two days before the Dallas show, and is expected to resume with a show in Little Rock Arkansas on Monday.
They are scheduled to tour the East and Midwest through November 23, ending with a concert in Waukegan, Illinois.